Results tagged “downtownexpress”

Downtown Express takes a look at that half-mile pedestrian walkway at West Street, where, due to construction, cyclists are supposed to dismount and walk their bikes from Chambers Street to Albany Street. Unsurprisingly, pretty much nobody obeys the rules, and last month a cyclist reportedly hit a woman in the leg on purpose after she yelled at him and his buddies to walk their bikes. Now one community board member is talking about requiring licenses for cyclists. But Dennis Graff, a steamfitter at a nearby construction site, insists pedestrians are overreacting: "'What do you want, a four-lane highway? People are crybabies.' Then he hunched over, imitating a little old lady, and called out in a creaking voice to the cyclists on the path: 'You’re going too fast, sonny!'"

Better late than never: The Port Authority turned over part of the World Trade Center site to developer Larry Silverstein. This parcel of land is where two of the five planned towers will be built.

The fate of Pier 40, located at West Houston Street on the Hudson, was much discussed and debated last year, and 2008 seems to be a year of further reflection. At one point, there was a $625 million idea for it to become an elaborate entertainment venue with a Cirque du Soleil theater, restaurants, and more, while opposing forces wanted there simply to be more green space.

This week, reports the Downtown Express, the Landmarks Preservation Commission recommended that architects incorporate elements of the Battery Maritime Building's original architecture into a proposed plan to renovate and expand the ferry terminal. The Dermot Company seeks to develop a glass boutique hotel (complete with roof lounge) and specialty foods marketplace above the Beaux Arts ferry terminal.

Five architectural firms have banded together to brainstorm ideas for adding green space to the far west side from the Village to Tribeca, also known as Hudson Square. A plan to add more garbage trucks to the neighborhood, writes Downtown Express's Patrick Hedlund, led local stakeholders to elicit architectural visions. Five firms - Arquitectonica GEO , FLAnK, LTL Architects, SPaN and Zakrzewski + Hyde (in association with Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners) - were asked to assume two still-up-in-the-air events: that the city will rezone the northern part of the neighborhood and that the Sanitation Department will not build a proposed facility.

Did you excel at yo-yo and rock, scissor, paper as a kid? Well, this past weekend was the 1st ever New York State Yo-Yo Contest at the South Street Seaport. From what we hear, excelling in yo-yo is the way to get all the ladies (they dig the finger dexterity and creativity with the yo-yo). It's not just the kids that are throwing the yo-yo around either. Downtown Express tells us that Riad Nasr, the executive chef at Balthazar is also a yo-yo fanatic. "I have a yo-yo in my pocket on the line. In between pick-ups, I’ll throw a trick or two." Watch out for that DOH inspection, Riad.

What does NY need? Another historic district, of course! Downtown Express is reporting that Community Board 3 has finally voted in favor of the Lower East Side Historic District, a proposed 20-block area that comprises 450 buildings from East Houston to Canal and from Allen to Essex streets.

Graffiti at 72 St. B/C downtown subway platform, NYC, 11 Jan 2007, by Carynsolly.

After watching Borat, we wondered which parts of the movie were real and which were staged. We may never know, but now it seems the part where the frat boys pick up a hitchhiking Borat was semi-staged, as the two of the three are suing to stop the movie from showing their images as well as unspecified monetary damages. The fraternity brothers, who have since left or graduated from University of South Carolina, say that they were tricked into participating.

Last February, the NYPD announced that it was conducting "Operation Lucky Bag" to suss out criminals. The police leave a shopping cart, purse or bag on a subway platform to tempt thieves, and then arrest crooks who try to steal the items! Of course, lawyers are concerned about entrapment, and Gothaimst had wondered what if someone, trying to be a good samaritan, attempted to take the bags to the lost and found. Well, someone did - and she was arrested! The Downtown Express reports that 52 year old Helen Calthorpe was arrested after picking up a shopping bag at the Columbus Circle 1 platform.

Calthorpe, an actress who was going to her day job at about 1 p.m. on June 14, saw the Verizon shopping bag, looked in and saw a box for a cell phone and an iPod beside it and picked up the bag. She was immediately surrounded by four police officers, one in uniform and the others in plainclothes.

Continue reading ""Lucky Bag" Operation So Not Cool"

And another bicycle story! Downtown Express this week has a really good piece on the dramatic rise in cyclists over the past few years. Currently about 120,000 New Yorkers ride their bikes for "everything from commuting to exercise to grocery shopping" and as more riders hit the streets the number of fatalities has declined. "There are about 3,000 bicycle fatalities injuries a year" a spokesman from Transportation Alternatives told the Express.

Morning bike riding is up across the four East River bridges 35 percent since last year and 100 percent since 2002, a report by the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives found. The Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges saw a 25 percent spike in cycling overall, with a 62 percent jump during the morning rush on the Brooklyn Bridge.

Nearly two inches of rain fell on Central Park during the wee hours this morning. We are getting a break until tomorrow morning as the long tentacle of rain plows up against the ridge to our east and stalls out. The Weather Service is saying drizzle, showers and maybe a thunderstorm are on tap for tomorrow. The Weather Channel says "no way", calling for cloudy skies in the morning and a peak of sun tomorrow afternoon. The two forecasts disagree on Sunday's weather as well, with the Weather Service calling for a drizzly, cool Mother's Day and the Weather Channel again saying it will be dry. Both agree that soaking rains return on Monday.

Have you ever found yourself walking in the Lower East Side at night thinking 'Geez, I hope this neighborhood looks exactly like this forever?" Well, it seems that you aren't the only one.

Some parents down in Tribeca are getting pissed with Mister Bloomberg.

what tourists want to see - they want fakes, not the real thing. This came about because Louis Vuitton, perhaps the most knocked-off brand around (get some brown plasticky material, an "L" and a "V" and mustard dye and you're set!), sued landlords in Chinatown. The NY Times ">profiled a counterfeit inspector from Louis Vuitton, who saw many women carrying garbage bags full of fake LV bags; we love the idea of some spiffily dressed LV suit rubbing shoulders with folks in Chinatown - though he'd probably dress down so as not to be detected. And the Downtown Express noticed how counterfeit handbag vendors on Canal Street are moving the inventory to backrooms , in order to avoid police detection, all while quietly muttering, “Handbag Chanel Coach Louis Vuitton Prada inside.”

The protestor who stripped down in Washington Square Park, with the words "Stop the War" painted all over her body, had her case of "public indecency" thrown out by a judge. Haila Faisal was in Criminal Court yesterday, armed with lawyer Ron Kuby, to argue her case, but Judge Stanley Katz said the complaint was too vague (or as the NY Times put it, "too scantily described to warrant prosecution") and therefore threw out the case. Also contributing to the situation: Neither the arresting officer nor someone from the DA's office was present. D'oh! Or perhaps that was their passive-aggressive way of realizing the charges were dumb.

The big news rocking the world of Democratic mayoral hopefuls is that Reverend Al Sharpton won't endorse a candidate this year. In other words, the Reverend Al is just like Gothamist and many other voters: Wondering if there are any strong messages in the Democratic candidates. He noted that this will be the first time in 20 years he will not be involved in a Democratic primary, but, of course, Sharpton did leave himself an escape chute, he'd reconsider if a candidate seemed to shape up. Sharpton also noted that former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer's remarks about Amadou Diallo didn't help things. Gothamist is shocked that Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields or even City Council Speaker Gifford Miller didn't try even harder to rise to the challenge of getting Sharpton's endorsement, because his support could have really helped solidify them in the race.

It's the spirit of old "We're pioneering artists" SoHo versus new "I'm flipping this condo" SoHo: The owners of a building on the southwest corner of Houston and Broadway are fighting to take down a sculpture on the outside wall of the building. Known as "The Wall," and also a landmark, according to the city's Landmarks Commission, Forrest Myers' 1973 sculpture consists of aluminum beams sticking out of the wall; it hasn't been there the past two years because it went in for repair. This issue has been roiling for a while, and the condo at 599 Broadway says they either want the city to pay them for the lost advertising revenue for having the sculpture there (read: "We couldn't get sexy, possibly underage Calvin Klein underwear ads on this wall all these years!") or get rid of the sculpture. The SoHo Alliance says, "SoHo is not for sale. Public art is not temporary." But, the Post reports, a judge will decide whether or not the Landmark Preservation Commission has "taken away the condominium board's private property without just compensation."